Credit Suisse has announced the launch of the Global Income Plus Fund to complement the group’s strongly performing UK equity income fund range.

As with its UK equity income funds, stock selection will primarily be driven from a bottom-up perspective, using a combination of quantitative screening tools and fundamental analysis.

Managed by Graham Ashby and his colleagues Marcus Chandler and Mira Bhogaita, the portfolio will maintain around 40 to 50 stocks, so that each stock makes an impact upon performance but the portfolio is diversified enough to counter long-term foreign exchange, geographical and political risks. 

Stocks in the portfolio are broadly equally weighted (between one and three per cent), giving the team flexibility to invest in interesting small- and mid-cap companies across the globe.

Graham Ashby, responsible for equity income products at Credit Suisse, says, ‘Companies around the world are waking up to the importance of regularly paying dividends to shareholders, particularly in the wake of the recent credit crunch, which has reduced the attractiveness of returning cash via share buybacks.

‘The fund complements our existing UK equity income product range and aims to deliver long-term dividend growth as well as immediate income, so we are not targeting yield at any cost. We are also using selective derivatives strategies where appropriate to enhance returns.’

The team is currently seeing particularly good investment opportunities in European companies that are doing business in emerging markets, such as Swiss cement supplier Holcim and National Bank of Greece, which has considerable exposure to Eastern Europe. In contrast to many other commentators, they are also beginning to see value in high-quality industrial names in Japan, such as Honda Motor Co.

Ashby adds, ‘Our investment style allows us to back a good company regardless of its size or sector, while obviously having an eye to sector and geographical exposure to maintain risk controls. We concentrate on assessing each stock’s intrinsic value and are cash-focused investors, looking for long-term investment opportunities that we believe allows us to produce superior performance.’

For more information, visit www.credit-suisse.com